It's funny how much difference $2B can make.

This article in today's New York Times reports that Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems and Bill Gates of Microsoft have patched up their long-running spat after Microsoft agreed to pay close to $2,000,000,000,000.00 in patent claims to McNealy's company. Who says money can't buy you friends?

Now that they are pals, I don't suppose we'll hear any more of Mr. McNealy's memorable quotes, such as the ones reported in The Times story: "Mr. McNealy has a well-earned reputation as Microsoft's most persistent and quotable antagonist. In the past, he routinely described Microsoft's software as an overly complex 'hairball.' He once referred to Microsoft's leaders, Steven A. Ballmer, the chief executive, and Bill Gates, the chairman and cofounder, as 'Ballmer and Butthead.'"
- posted by Perry @ 7:25 AM